Journal editorial, 4-23: A visit with Tim Johnson
By The Journal Editorial Board
Sen. Tim Johnson stopped by last week to visit with the Journal editorial board, as he and other members of South Dakota's congressional delegation do from time to time. Because yet another Canadian cow had been diagnosed with mad cow disease the week before, we asked the sponsor of country of origin labeling (COOL) legislation about the issue and the Bush administration's plans to open the Canadian border to cows older than 30 months.
"I'm not happy about opening the border to younger cattle," Johnson said. "It's playing with fire to allow older cattle into the country." He added that the Bush administration should "back off" on loosening cattle trade restrictions with Canada.
Johnson said he was frustrated that Congress has delayed implementation of country of origin labeling of meat and poultry products until 2008. The law was originally passed in 2002 and the House has twice delayed its implementation.
What really irked the senator was how the latest delay was pushed through Congress. Johnson was on last year's conference committee negotiating differences between the House and Senate versions of the agriculture spending bill, and the chairmen from the House and Senate agreed to accept the House version of the bill with the COOL delay but did not schedule a committee vote on the final version. The conference report could not be amended and Congress accepted the COOL delay as part of the ag spending bill.
Johnson called the conference committee's action a "corrupted process." "What I don't like is when the process is being done behind closed doors and in the dark of night," he said.
Johnson said every other country labels its own agriculture products, and the European Union has country of origin labeling on meat sold in Europe. He said it is a food safety issue that everyone else gets except the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Because foreign markets have concerns about meat products from the United States, U.S. beef producers have lost export markets. Meanwhile, foreign beef continues to enter the U.S. and is put on the shelves alongside American-produced beef. "Producers get the worst of both worlds," he said.
Sen. Johnson is trying to get COOL implemented immediately and also has a bill that would prohibit the USDA from stamping imported beef and lamb products as "USDA prime" or "USDA choice" and to classify graded imported meat as "misbranded."
Johnson's bill is a good solution if COOL is going to be blocked. How would the USDA know if imported meat products are safe? It makes sense to stop the USDA from putting its logo on meat that it can't verify as safe to eat.
We share Sen. Johnson's frustration with getting COOL legislation implemented. Other countries support their domestic agriculture producers, but not the United States. Even though U.S. beef producers meet USDA regulations that ensure a safe food supply, American consumers aren't told which meat products are produced domestically under strict safety rules and which products come from who knows where. It doesn't make any sense to us.
Good luck, Sen. Johnson, in getting implementation of country of origin labeling through Congress. You're going to need it.